That I decided to note 29-year-old Jim Henderson’s major league arrival with a blog entry two weeks ago was largely due to the fact that he was an Expos draft pick; if he had instead been selected by the Reds or Giants 10 years ago, I probably would have let it pass without comment.

Henderson, though, is turning out to be something quite a bit more than a novelty act for the Brewers. On Wednesday, he picked up his second save in 24 hours, throwing a hitless ninth inning to protect a 3-2 lead against the Reds.

In all, Henderson has pitched seven innings in his two weeks with the Brewers and he’s currently sporting a 1.29 ERA and a 10/1 K/BB ratio.

Henderson isn’t some wily veteran getting by on guile or a wacky delivery, either; he sports a legitimate mid-90s fastball, which is why he kept getting looks in the minors despite underwhelming numbers. If he had better command or a better slider, he would have reached the majors years ago.

So far, Henderson is showing improved command. I’m still not very impressed with his slider, but it looks a whole lot better when he gets ahead with his fastball. The Brewers probably aren’t really looking at him as any sort of fixture in the closer’s role, but with the way he’s throwing, there’s reason to think he could be a useful piece in the pen beyond this season.